“The Secret Behind ‘Ugly’ Marketing…”

You see, I know a lot of marketers and designers who probably don’t want me to tell you what I’m about to say. Hopefully I don’t end up on some ‘Internet Marketer Hit List’ for telling you that:

You Are Probably Wasting Most Of Your Marketing Dollars.

There. I said it.

I know because… Well… I used to waste people’s money too.

NOT intentionally of course. I had the best of intentions.

But the reality is that most of what is taught as good ‘marketing’ is simply NOT. This is the danger of ‘learning’ something like marketing. The old saying applies:
“Those who can’t DO, teach.”

I was fortunate enough to have come across a (very successful, wealthy) mentor who took me under his wing, and taught me all the secrets to his own Internet marketing success.

In the beginning, it was a real struggle. There was a lot of “unlearning” I had to go thorough, and a lot of things that were NOT intuitive. Like the fact that UGLY designs can often outsell gorgeous designs.

In retrospect, knowing what I know now, it makes perfect sense…

But I had earned a name for myself as a swiss-army-knife of beautiful design. I was building websites and technology, marketing materials and branding that got me a lot of ‘praise’ for how ‘pretty’ or ‘cool’ they looked…

But the truth is that I had no idea if my ‘marketing’ was working.

And this is the problem with most marketers, web developers and copywriters…

What makes them good is also what makes them bad. You see, these guys are ‘creative types’ who look at what they do as an ART FORM. I know, because that’s what I used to think too…

Well, Marketing is NOT an artform.

As an artist, this was hard for me to surrender, but I acknowledge it now. The ‘art’ is the icing on the cake. The substance of that cake is SCIENCE, based on data and solid research.

There is a SCIENCE to marketing, and if you and your ‘marketer’ don’t understand the psychology of it, and don’t have systems in place to test and measure your results, then you are truly flushing money down the provebial toilet.

That sounds pretty bad, but it gets even worse.

There’s a common misconception (even among most marketers) that goes something like this:
“Any marketing is better than nothing.”

And this is a story that most mediocre marketers and advertisers push… As if marketing runs on a scale from 1 to 100. We are to believe that it only IMPROVES your business and your bottom line.

(If you believe that, then there’s a banner on a bench I’d like to sell you…)

This is, at best, a mistake… at worst, it’s a flat-out LIE.

The reality is that BAD marketing can unsell your customers.

Let me repeat that:

Your BAD marketing could be UNSELLING your customers.

So what IS your marketing money going to?

Well, here’s the ‘dirty’ secret:

It is very likely that, without knowing it, you are funding the development of someone else’s portfolio.

Let me explain how the business works from the perspective of a web design company, an artist, or a marketer…

Once they have a contract with you, their focus generally is NOT how to get you as many customers and as much money as possible.

Their next main concern is how to bring in the NEXT project.

Now when a prospective client looks at the portfolio of a marketer, web developer or artist, they have NO idea how successful it was. It is impossible to see how many customers it brought in, or how much money it made.

So what CAN a prospective client see?

How “pretty” it is.

Marketers and Designers are rewarded for creating “pretty” things…

Their focus is how to turn your logo, website, print material, etc. into a beautiful portfolio piece that will help them sell their own services. And that is the only REAL marketing going on…

They are concerned about marketing themselves.

Now I don’t want you to think that these are BAD people… They’re not. They’re doing what they’ve been taught to do, and they’re doing what they have found works… FOR THEM. Pretty designs, cool websites… these things bring in business for web designers and marketers.

But what works for them is not necessarily what will work for you.

And that’s where the secret of UGLY marketing comes in.

After working with my mentor for several years, I had the opportunity to test beautiful designs against ‘ugly’ designs. Fancy layouts versus very simple layouts… Sophisticated, animated, full-featured pages versus plain-looking ‘ugly’ pages.

I didn’t like what I found.

I didn’t like what it implied about the work I had done in the past…

Because what I found was that a very sophisticated website with lots of animation, links and features didn’t perform nearly as well for his market as something VERY simple and focused.

For this audience, I discovered that WHAT was written on the page was much more important than HOW the page looked.

I tested this out with quite a few different markets and demographics, and time and time again, I found similar results:

Lots of fancy options, animations and ‘bells and whistles’ often UNSOLD customers, by giving them too much to think about, and too much to be distracted by.

(For Example, I originally put an animated series of testimonials on this page… but while it looked ‘cool’, it would have distracted you every five seconds, and made it VERY hard to follow the important message I’m sharing with you… The message won out over the ‘coolness’ factor…)

What I discovered (after running split-tests for a large information product company) was that good marketing is not just about things being ‘pretty’. And good marketing copywriting is NOT the same as ‘good writing’ for a college report.

They are totally different animals.

Marketing that SELLS is about creating something that is custom tailored to the specific kind of person that your product or service targets. It’s about addressing the conversation your customer already has going on inside their head… About ‘getting’ their needs, concerns, frustrations… And providing a product or service that will help them, and give them great value.

Beautiful design has it’s place, and I DO believe that it can increase sales, as well as develop the value and perception of a brand (otherwise, this web page would be plain white, with some ugly font and nothing else).

BUT (and this is a big but), the design MUST work hand-in-hand with the writing, the strategy and the VERY focused message… A message that builds a solid relationship with your prospect, and makes them WANT to continue the relationship with you as a customer.

If you’re ready to take your marketing budget, and do something with it that will create REAL results, if you’re ready to take things to the next level, then we should discuss howMarketing Magnet can help you achieve your marketing goals.

First, a few ‘ground rules’:

I only work with people, products and services that I feel are a great value to the customer. I refuse to ‘fleece’ anyone, or sell garbage. Integrity comes first.

I want to create results that are measurable. It may take more time to build in tracking and testing systems, but in the long run, this results in our knowledge of what does and (more importantly) does NOT work for your audience. (PLUS this allows us to point to concrete results and say “here’s what we accomplished.”)

You will never, EVER, hear me say that I chose to do something “just because”. Everything I do is for a specific reason, and my goal is to educate you. I encourage you to ask questions and understand why I do what I do… It can only help you appreciate the time and thought that goes into each detail.

I will always tell you how I see things, even if it’s not something I think you want to hear… Even if it’s something you came up with yourself. For example:

If I think your logo sucks, I will tell you.

If the name of your new product is a joke, you’re going to hear it from me.

If there’s a better way to do something that will save you time and money, I willrecommend it to you.

If we made a mistake, I will recommend we back up and try something else.

I am a ‘straight shooter’ and I don’t pull punches. That’s not what you’re paying for, and I wouldn’t want someone to ‘spare my feelings’ and cost me a bunch of money…

So I’m not going to do that to you.

If what I’ve shared with you here doesn’t resonate, that’s OK, and you should look for another company to work with. (I am happy to refer you to someone else).

But if what I’ve said makes sense, and you like what you’re hearing, then I want to help you take your project to the next level. I want to help you in a way that will increase sales, develop your brand and your core business., and build a long term relationship with you (and help you build a long term relationship with your customers).

Remember, Marketing is NOT magic. It’s not a mystical ‘black art’. And it shouldn’t be a secret.

Marketing is a science. If you know it’s laws and principles, you can use it to attract customers…

Attract customers like a Marketing Magnet.

For a free consultation, please enter your name and email address below, and I will contact youpersonally to assess your needs and see if we’re a good fit.